SuitabookCattywampus
Ash Van Otterloo
- Reading
- Try reading a little together first if your child is unsure about spooky fantasy. You can pause to check how they are finding the undead threat, then continue independently or together according to their preference.
- Themes
- Belonging and intersex identity: Katybird is an intersex girl who worries that her magical ability may not develop and about her place in her family’s witching tradition. Katybird is comfortable in herself while facing others’ negative reactions.
- Friendship across a family feud: Delpha and Katybird belong to rival witching families; their quarrel unleashes the hex, and they must work together to try to put things right. The book’s stance on this remains unclear.
- Magic, secrecy and community: Conjuring is forbidden in the town, and the families’ magical practices are kept secret; the hex threatens the town. The setup makes secrecy and fear of magic part of the conflict, but does not establish whether the story endorses or criticises the town’s rules.
- Worth knowing
- The fantasy danger includes a hex that resurrects angry ancestors intent on destruction, described as rampaging zombies. The story also includes Delpha’s family money troubles and prejudice directed at Katybird for being intersex.